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Catholic
Studies Courses
AH 431-21: Sixteenth Century Art in Rome:
Mannerism to Counter-Reformation This course examines developments in art in Rome during the 16th century. It focuses on the transition from Mannerism to the Counter Reformation age. It starts with Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and Raffaello’s Rooms where the signs of Mannerism are already visible. Then it goes on to explore the main mannerist artists active in Rome in the first half of the century. It analyzes the influence of the Italian and foreign northern culture and the presence of some northern artists in Rome around the middle of the century: both will help the passage to “nature” and to the representation of religious subjects. English EN 320-51: Renaissance Literature This course offers students a representative sampling of writers and texts from one of the most miraculous periods in European letters, sixteenth-century English literature. Shaped by the confluence of Renaissance and Reformation thought, and energized by the emergence of the public theater in London, this initial era of print-culture is alternatively engaging and perplexing to current readers. We will be as attentive to its strangeness as to its iconic familiarity. As one of the six required courses in our program, this course gives equal weight to increasing students’ knowledge of cultural history and improving their analytical skills History HS 196A-51: Prophecy and Order Since antiquity a prominent aspect of Christianity has been the presence in the church of especially ascetic and apostolic figures, both women and men, who have often formed intentional communities of monasteries and religious orders. These individuals and communities have simultaneously acted as prophetic critics of the church and the world and as strong institutional supporters of the church. They have contributed to the intellectual, cultural, and political development of Western Europe through their work as theologians, spiritual writers, and political theorists. This course will examine the history of religious communities through an examination of these contributions. This will include study of the "desert fathers," western monasticism, the mendicant movement of the high middle ages, the emergence of active apostolic groups in the modern world, religious communities of women, and contemporary examples of non-traditional intentional communities such as the Catholic Worker Movement and the Communita' di Sant'Egidio. RL/HS 326-21: History of the Papacy Rome, the ‘Eternal City’, central in the history of Western culture, changed from Antiquity to Modern times passing through a medieval evolution that made the capital of the Roman Empire the centre of Christianity. To understand how and why Rome became the most important city of Christendom it is necessary to reconstruct the historical evolution of the Papacy. Indeed, the presence of popes in Rome shaped the city role, culture, politics and architecture of the Eternal City. This course will study topics related to the evolution of the papal primacy from Late Antiquity to the Medieval period in relation to the Byzantine Empire, where Constantine founded the “New Rome”. In the course we will analyze the relation between the Rome of the Roman Empire and the centre of Christianity: how the heritage of the Roman Empire influenced the role played by the papacy and how the new imperial see reacted against the evolution of the papal primacy. HS 411-51: Renaissance Europe This course will examine the cultural, political,
and social changes that Europe underwent between ca. 1300 and ca.
1600. These will include the rise of the city-states and principalities
of Italy, the early capitalist economy of Europe, the rise of Humanism,
the call for Reform in the Church, the place of family in the Renaissance
life, and the role of women in society and in the humanist movement.
Students will also examine the “problem of the Renassiance,”
i.e. the various interpretations that historians have offered in
the 19th and 20th centuries. Our means to addressing these various
aspects of the Renaissance will be by reading primary sources, by
examining the art of the period, and by studying significant examples
of secondary literature on the period. International Cultures IC 362-21: Dante’s Cities This course is designed to provide students with
an indepth examination of Dante’s Divine Comedy and of his
Vita Nuova (New Life), showing how these reflect the social, cultural,
and artistic representation of late medieval Italy. The course will
focus on how Dante understands the relationship between human knowledge
and Divine knowledge and how he represents the values, beliefs,
and practices of medieval Italy. Furthermore, in the study of the
relationship between the genre of poetry and that of art, the course
will help the student discover how the changing stages of Italian
artistic perspective (e.g., from Cimabue to Giotto) give us a window
onto how (Florentine) artists of the 13th and 14th centuries have
shaped Dante’s literary works. The highlight of the course
will be an intensive, on-site learning tour of the cities of Rome,
Florence, L’Aquila, and Siena. Philosophy PL 220-1 and 51: Medieval Philosophy In this course, we will survey the central problem
areas of medieval philosophy, reading Catholic thinkers such as
Augustine, Anselm, Abelard, Aquinas, Scotus, and Ockham along with
Jewish and Islamic thinkers for comparison. Our goal will be two-fold:
first, to learn how these authors thought through philosophical
issues; second, to think them through for ourselves. The issues
we will be focusing on include freedom of the will, proofs of the
existence of God, the problem of universals, the nature of virtue,
and mysticism. Philosophical problems raised by selected Christian writers, both classical and contemporary. PL 315-51: Applied Ethics: Medical Ethics Bioethics provides a range of theoretical underpinnings to assist in the resolution of clinical dilemmas presented by the practice of modern medicine. In order to answer the question “what ought I do?” patients, their families, health care professionals and religious advisors face increasingly complex challenges to traditional views about the sanctity and value of human life. In this Catholic Studies course, we examine five main bioethics concerns contrasting a faith based perspective provided by Catholic tradition and Magesterium with secular bioethics perspectives. We consider 1) valuing life: being pro-life in an age of science and relativism: personal autonomy over life and death in medical treatments; 2) creating life: the ethics of assisted reproduction, and genetically engineered human and animal life; 3) modifying life: the ethical limits of transplantation, genetic modification, and the use of stem cell technologies; 4) ending life: the ethics of assisted suicide, withdrawal of artificial life support of nutrition; 5) real life using bioethics in the practical resolution of ethical dilemmas faced by Catholics in Medicine and biotechnology. PL 385-41: Philosophy of the Body In this course, we will investigate the different ways in which classical and contemporary philosophers and theorists have analyzed human embodiment. PL 395-41: Metaphysics We will attempt to understand what kinds of things there are in the world through the questions of Being and related concepts of existence, thing, property, event, matter, mind, space, time, and causality. PL 396-41: Theories of Knowledge Examination of the nature and sources of knowledge and the means for establishing knowledge claims. Readings from classic works and contemporary writers. PL 425-41: Philosophy of the Human Person Philosophical reflection on some fundamental and enduring questions about human beings and their relationship to the universe. Includes readings from classical and contemporary sources.
RL 101-41: Introduction to Religious Studies Introduction to the academic study of religion. Topics include the nature of religion; the human search for meaning; revelation; symbol, myth, and ritual; faith as it relates to reason, experience, and morality. Introduction to the areas of scripture, theology, ethics, and religious traditions. This class is designed to prepare students for courses in the 200 and 300 levels. RL 101-51 and 55: Introduction to Religious
Studies This is an introductory course to the study of religion taught through the lens of Catholic Christianity. The course will explore how scriptures, symbols, myths, rituals, and creeds of the Catholic Church respond to the human search for meaning. In the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, the course will include attention to contemporary practice, issues in morality and methodology, reflection on personal faith as it relates to reason, as well as a sympathetic appreciation of the beliefs of others with some consideration of Islam. The course is open to all students interested in fuller understanding of religion with a focus on the Catholic tradition. RL 101-58 and 59: Introduction to Religious
Studies This is an introductory course to the study of religion taught through the lens of Catholic Christianity. The course will explore how scriptures, symbols, myths, rituals, and creeds of the Catholic Church respond to the human search for meaning. In the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, the course will include attention to contemporary practice, issues in morality and methodology, reflection on personal faith as it relates to reason, as well as a sympathetic appreciation of the beliefs of others with special consideration of Islam. The course is open to all students interested in fuller understanding of religion with a focus on the Catholic tradition. RL 101-61: Introduction to Religious Studies This course will introduce students to the study of religion from the perspective of contemporary Catholic theology. RL 200-41: Old Testament Introduction This course is an introduction to the scholarly
study of Sacred Scripture in the Roman Catholic Tradition. More
specifically, it will examine the historical and cultural environment
of the Old Testament, its nature and composition, its religious
and theological developments, and its signficance for today’s
Christians. The course introduces the student to adequate methodologies for making moral decisions. It will draw upon philosophical and religious traditions, notably the Catholic tradition. Material will include elements of critical thinking, conscience, and analysis of source material. Application will be made to contemporary moral issues. RL 320-51: History of Christmas This course will examine how the feast of Christmas developed in the Christian Church. Emphasis will be placed upon the relation of this development to larger developments in Church and society, especially in the nineteenth century. RL 326-21:History of the Papacy Rome, the ‘Eternal City’, central in the history of Western culture, changed from Antiquity to Modern times passing through a medieval evolution that made the capital of the Roman Empire the centre of Christianity. To understand how and why Rome became the most important city of Christendom it is necessary to reconstruct the historical evolution of the Papacy. Indeed, the presence of popes in Rome shaped the city role culture, politics and architecture of the Eternal City. This course will study topics related to the evolution of the papal primacy from Late Antiquity to the Medieval period in relation to the Byzantine Empire, where Constantine founded the “New Rome”. In the course we will analyze the relation between the Rome of the Roman Empire and the centre of Christianity: how the heritage of the Roman Empire influenced the role played by the papacy and how the new imperial see reacted against the evolution of the papal primacy. RL 334-1: Christology The focus of this course is the person of Jesus called the Christ, the “Anointed One.” With this in mind, we will examine the world of Jesus, his actions, and his message. We will look especially at the synoptic gospels to uncover the Jesus of history and we will examine, insofar as possible, the Christ of faith who emerges from the communities that followed his way and were formed by the Easter experience. The course will also explore contemporary issues raised by theologians and exegetes noting how these issues may shape the future for the churches and for individual believers. RL 364-51 and 52: Christian Sexuality It is widely held today that the human race is undergoing a massive cultural mutation in the area of sexual values, ethics, and behaviors. Christian Sexuality explores this claim from the perspective of the church’s wisdom and teaching and, from the perspective of human experience, wrestles with the mystery and meaning of human sexuality as revelatory of our deepest urgent longings for communion with God. RL 376-41: The Franciscan Movement This course will study the Franciscan Movement from its birth in the life of St. Francis of Assisi to its modern-day manifestations. Through reflections upon the historical and spiritual aspects of the movement, the course will give the student an overall perspective of the Franciscan experience, identifying its unique and vital charism within the Roman Catholic Church. RL 400-1: Introduction to Biblical Interpretation This course is part of the Catholic Studies curriculum because it engages the student with the Roman Catholic theological tradition of interpretation of the New Testament, both as an entity and in its respective parts. The ecclesial nature of authentic scriptural interpretation is fundamental to this tradition. Insofar as it is possible, I endeavor to make the class process model the kind of communal give-and-take which continues to produce this Catholic interpretive tradition. It is my hope that all students will find the class (and the instructor) respectful of their faith perspectives while posing invigorating challenges to prior assumptions. RL 466-51: Justice and the Economy This is a team-taught interdisciplinary seminar
that examines the inter-realtionship between economic and ethical
choices and their ethical and economical implications. It creates
basic economic and theological ethical frameworks for making decisions
and policies which students will apply to contemporary issues. Two
objectives of the course include learning conceptual ethical frameworks
and viewpoints for analyzing and making moral arguments on issues
as well as developing skills in applying the frameworks and viewpoints
to specific economic policies and issues on the micro-, macro-,
and international levels. |